Cotton opener



Feb 112, 3%?

R. C. YOUNG HAL COTTON OPENER 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENFOR6 R. c. YOUNG R. A. RUSCA BY aw.-

ATTORNEY R. C. YONG EIAL COTTON OPENER 4 Sheets- Shee't 2 Filed July 27, 1955 in. c. YOUNG R. A. RUSCA Feb. 312 1957 a. mum AL COTTON OPENER 4 Sheets-=Sheet 3 Filed July 27. 1955 INVENTORS RC. YOUNG R.A. RUSCA ATTORNEY 5% i2, 1%?- R. Q mums ETAL. z sms COTTON OPENER Filed July 27, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 x HQ 4% INVENTORS R.G.YOUNG R.A.RUSCA ATTORNEY COTTON OPENER Ray C. Young and Ralph A. Rusca, New Orleans, La., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture Application July 27, 1955, Serial No. 524,831

5 Claims. (Cl. 19-93) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) A non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention herein described, for all governmental purposes, throughout the world, with the power to grant sublicenses for such purposes, is hereby granted to the Government of the United States of America.

This invention relates to a machine for processing staple textile fibers such as cotton fibers or natural or synthetic fibers having a staple length of about /2 to 2%. inches. The invention provides a machine that untangles or opens tangled masses of fibers and at the same time removes a large proportion of any non-fibrous particles that are mixed with the fibers.

In the processing of staple textile fibers such as cotton fibers, almost any additional working, e. g. opening, butfeting, transferring, or the like, increases the tendency for the fibers to form neps, which are minute tightlytangled masses of fibers.

In the present machine, the fibers receive a materially greater amount of working than is received by fibers processed in a machine of the type disclosed in Patent No. 2,365,793 provided with dotfers of the type disclosed in Patent No. 2,607,958. However, we have discovered that when a specified ratio of surface speeds is maintained between the opener cylinders and the beater cylinders, and between the beater cylinders and the dofier cylinders, the elements of the present machine coact so that the extra working received by the fibers does not appreciably increase the nepping, or reduce the production rate of the machine; but, the combined action does cause an increase of as much as 50 times in the amount of trash removal.

In general, the machine of the present invention is provided with a horizontal belt-type conveyor leading to a series of adjacent toothed opener cylinders arranged in a wall-like structure rising up from and curving back toward the conveyor, and a housing arranged to extend said wall-like structure. The conveyor and the cylinders are rotated in the same direction so that fibers deposited on the conveyor are moved into a mass of fibers rotating within the confines of the conveyor, the opener cylinders and the housing, and the opener cylinders continuously pick up and carry thin layers of fibers from the mass. The structure is similar to that of Patent No. 2,365,793. Lickerin-type beater cylinders are arranged in a fiber transfer relationship with the opener cylinders and rotated in the opposite direction at a rate at which the surface speed of the beater cylinders is from about 1.1 to 5.0 times the surface speed of the opener cylinders. Grid bars are arranged adjacent to the beater cylinders. Beyond the grid bars, doffer cylinders are arranged in a fiber transfer relationship with the beater cylinders. The dotfer cylinders are provided with fiber working teeth having forward faces constructed at such an angle to the cylinder radius that the teeth pick up fibers, carry them through part of a revolution, then discharge them by centrifugal action. The dotfer cylinders are rotated in a direction opposite to that of the beater cylinders at a nited States Patent 0 2,780,839 Patented Feb. 12, 1957 rate at which the surface speed of the dofier cylinders is from about 1.1 to 2.0 times that of the beater cylinders. The construction of the dofiier cylinder is similar to that described in Patent No. 2,607,958. Partially surrounding the doft'er cyllnders, suction flue ducts are arranged to carry away the fibers discharged by the doffer cylinders.

For a detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a section view of one embodiment of the machine.

Figure 2 is a section view of another embodiment of the machine.

Figure 3 is a section view of a multiple cylinder cleaning arrangement for the machine.

Figure 4 is a section view of the cleaning cylinder and grid bar arrangement of the machine.

Figure 5 is an oblique view of the hopper cover of the machine.

Lint cotton or other staple textile fibers 1 to be opened, cleaned and/or more uniformly intermingled are fed onto horizontal belt-type conveyor 2.

The conveyor carries the fibers into contact with the lower cylinder 3 of the series of adjacent opener cylinders.

The series of opener cylinders is terminated by kicker cylinder 4 which is provided with teeth having forward faces inclined away from the direction in which the cylinder rotates, so that while the teeth urge a mass of fibers to move in conjunction with the cylinder, they extract only a relatively small amount of fibers from the rotating mass of fibers. The wall-like arrangement of cylinders is extended by cover section 5, extending from kicker cylinder 4 to a point adjacent to conveyor 2. Stripper bar 6 is mounted adjacent to cylinder 4, to insure that the kicker cylinder extracts few, if any fibers.

' The conveyor and the opener and kicker cylinders are all rotated in the same direction, so that their combined action converts the fibers fed onto the conveyor into a relatively rapidly rotating mass of fibers from which a thin layer of fibers is extracted by each of the opener cylinders. The cylinders and the conveyor pulleys are rotatably mounted on a suitable frame and are driven by a conventional drive mechanism (not shown). The ratio of the surface speed of the opener cylinders to that of the conveyor can vary widely; but the surface speed of the opener cylinders is preferably from about 3 to 6 times greater than that of the conveyor.

The opener cylinders carry the thin layer of fibers they extract on their forwardly inclined teeth. This layer of fibers is stripped off by the action of lickerin-type beater cylinders, the lowermost one being given character 7.

. The beater cylinders are mounted adjacent to the opener cylinders and rotated in the opposite direction at a rate at which the beater cylinder teeth sweep past the opener cylinder teeth and extract the fibers carried by the latter. The beater cylinders are driven by a conventional drive mechanism arranged to give them a surface speed of from about 1.6 to 5 times the surface speed of the opener cylinders. Particularly in the processing of cotton fibers, a beater surface speed of from about 2500 to 3500 feet per minute is preferred.

Each beater cylinder works in conjunction with grid bars 8 which are deposed in the usual manner in a substantially dead air chamber 9. The dead air chamber is provided with a spiral blade conveyor it) as a means for removing trash.

For optimum cleaning efficiency in the processing of cotton lint, it has been found that angle X, clearance Y and radius Z designated in Figure 4 for a heater cylinder 7 are interrelated. For example, Z=6, X =l05 and Y= or Z=5", X and Y= are suitable dimensions. Other diameter cylinders, angles and clearances can, however, be used.

After the cotton has been cleaned by the grid bars it is dotted from the beater cylinders by dotr'er cylinders 13. The dolfer cylinders are driven by a conventional drive mechanism arranged to give them a surface speed of from about 1.1 to 1.6 times the surface speed of the beater cylinders being defied. Particularly in the processing of cotton fibers, a doffer surface speed of from about 1.6 to 2.0 times that of the surface speed of the beater cylinders is preferred.

Suction fiue duct 14 carries away the fibers discharged by the dotfer cylinders. The suction fiue is connected with the usual suction means for creating an air current to carry the fibers.

The cleaning action of the present machine is augmented by employing perforate liner 1'5 inside the cover section 5. The liner is preferably perforated by slots 16 of the type illustrated in Figure 5. The lower end of liner 15 is preferably spaced away from cover section 5 far enough to provide roomfor a trash removing means such as spiral blade conveyor 17.

As is illustrated in Figure 2, a single large beater cylinder 11 strips the fibers from a pair of adjacent opener cylinders.

As illustrated in Figure 3, in order to obtain a greater cleaning etficiency, a first beater cylinder 11 is stripped by a second beater cylinder 12. The second beater cylinder is rotated at a surface speed of from about 1.1 to 3.0 times the surface speed of the first beater cylinder. Particularly in the processing of cotton fibers, a second beater cylinder surface speed of about from 1.6 to-2'.0 times that of the first beater cylinder, is preferred.

We claim:

1. A machine for processing staple textile fibers comprising: a horizontal belt-type conveyor leading to a series of adjacent toothed opener cylinders rotatable in the same direction arranged in a wall-like structure rising up from and curving back toward the conveyor and a housing arranged to extend said wall-like structure close to the conveyor so that fibers deposited on the conveyor are moved into a mass of fibers rotating within the confines of the conveyor, the opener cylinders and the housing, and the opener cylinders continuously pick up and carry thin layers of fibers from the mass; lickerin-type beater cylinders arranged in a fiber transfer relationship with the opener cylinders and rotated in the opposite direction at a rate at which the surface speed of the beater cylinders is from about 1.1 to 5.0 times the surface speed of the opener cylinders; grid bars arranged adjacent to the beater cylinders; beyond the grid bars, dofier cylinders arranged in a fiber transfer relationship with the beater cylinders, said dofier cylinders being provided with fiber working teeth having forward faces constructed at such an angle to the cylinder radius that the teeth pick up fibers, carry them through part of a revolution, then discharge them by centrifugal action, and being rotated in a direction opposite to that of the beater cylinders at a rate at which the surface speed of the dolfer cylinder is from about 1.1 to 2.0 times that of the beater cylinder; and partially surrounding the doffer cylinders, suction flue ducts arranged to draw the fibers discharged by the doifer cylinders away from the cylinders.

2. The machine .of claim 1 in which the wall-like arrangement of a series of opener cylinders is terminated by a kicker cylinder provided with fiber working teeth having forward faces slanting away from the direction of rotation far enough so that they pick up few fibers from a mass of fibers.

3. The machine of claim 1 in which the housing is provided with a perforate liner which is spaced apart from the housing and is located between the housing and the fibers'being processed and with a means for removing accumulated trash located within the space between the housing and the liner.

4. The machine of claim 1 in which a single beater cylinder is arranged to pick up the fibers from a pair of the opener cylinders.

5'. The machine of claim 4- in which the beater cylinders are rotated ata rate at which their surface speed is from about 1.1 to 5.0 times that of the surface speed of the opener cylinder, and a series of second beater cylinders is arranged to pick up the fibers from the first beater cylinders; with said second beater cylinders being provided with cooperating grid barsand being rotated at a rate at which their surface speed is from about 1.1 to 3.0 times greater than that of the first beater cylinders.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 128,697 Barbour July 9, 1872 2,365,793 Asbill et al. Dec. 26, 1944 2,607,958 Rusca et al Aug. 26, 1952 

